Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has admitted he scoured Arsenal 's loss to Brighton in search of tactical insights - only to fall to defeat by the same opposition.
Spurs were downed by Leandro Trossard's last-minute winner in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off to leave their aspirations of a top-four finish in the Premier League hanging in the balance. The result lifted the Seagulls to 10th in the table and it came one week after they won 2-1 at the Emirates.
Trossard was on the scoresheet alongside Enock Mwepu and Martin Odegaard's late goal only served as a consolation for the Gunners. Conte had hoped to unearth some gems of knowledge about Brighton by watching the game back, so it came as no surprise to him that his side struggled to break down Graham Potter's well-drilled outfit.
"A difficult game, a difficult game," the Spurs boss told BT Sport after the match. "We knew this and I had seen the game against Arsenal and knew what could happen today from a tactical aspect. It was a very tactical game, from one side to the other side. I think at the end a draw was the more fair final result but at the end it was Brighton who won the game and they deserve it. They deserve to win, it was a difficult game for us."
Although Conte was gracious in defeat, he suggested his side may have had trouble coping with the sweltering midday heat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Italian said: "We started very slowly, in this type of game, a tactical game, you have to move the ball quickly, you have to try and find the right space and attack the goal. Today we did everything too slow, maybe the weather, spring, I want to find an excuse, but for sure it wasn't a good game for us."
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Regardless of whether the weather played a part in Tottenham's defeat, Conte was left in no doubt he and his players have much to learn from the damaging loss. "I said before it was a tactical game, Brighton were good to close the space, and counter-attack, move the ball more quickly than us in possession," he said.
"But for sure this type of game, you understand you can win, you're not to lose. This is a lesson for us to learn after this game. There are many games where you understand it isn't your day, you must pay more attention to not lose." Tottenham can get their top-four push back on track when they make the short trip to Brentford next Saturday.
